# Where \_did\_ the solarians go? (unboxed asimov robot novel spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 19, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-_did_-the-solarians-go-unboxed-asimov-robot-novel-spoilers/295244 "2005-03-19T00:38:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-_did_-the-solarians-go-unboxed-asimov-robot-novel-spoilers/295244/1 "2005-03-19T00:38:17Z")
At the very end of **Robots And Empire** , which I finished last night, Giskard tells Daneel to find out where the Solarian humans went. From the moment I found out the planet’s humans had left I wondered where they went. The book left me hanging. P.S. I probably enjoyed the book as much as the other robot books (if a little more. I have developed an odd respect for asimov style robots. This book seems to be the most complementart to robot intelligence) despite opinions that it is a weak attempt to connect the robot novels to the foundation novels. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-_did_-the-solarians-go-unboxed-asimov-robot-novel-spoilers/295244/2 "2005-03-19T00:53:09Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > At the very end of **Robots And Empire** , which I finished last night, Giskard tells Daneel to find out where the Solarian humans went. > > From the moment I found out the planet’s humans had left I wondered where they went. The book left me hanging. > P.S. I probably enjoyed the book as much as the other robot books (if a little more. I have developed an odd respect for asimov style robots. This book seems to be the most complementart to robot intelligence) despite opinions that it is a weak attempt to connect the robot novels to the foundation novels. If you want to know where the Solarians went, read “Foundation and Earth”. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-_did_-the-solarians-go-unboxed-asimov-robot-novel-spoilers/295244/3 "2005-03-19T01:03:32Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > If you want to know where the Solarians went, read “Foundation and Earth”. In that case, I should probably make an effort to avoid this thread from now on. As someone will surely reveal the answer which I had assumed was not contained in one of the other books. (I was hoping I had simply missed the answer somewhere in ‘Robots and Empire’, and so the answer would not be a spoiler for me) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-_did_-the-solarians-go-unboxed-asimov-robot-novel-spoilers/295244/4 "2005-03-19T01:04:37Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > In that case, I should probably make an effort to avoid this thread from now on. As someone will surely reveal the answer which I had assumed was not contained in one of the other books. (I was hoping I had simply missed the answer somewhere in ‘Robots and Empire’, and so the answer would not be a spoiler for me) Well, now that you know how to find the answer, you could request the thread be locked. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Sparky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Saint\_Sparky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Sparky)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-_did_-the-solarians-go-unboxed-asimov-robot-novel-spoilers/295244/5 "2005-03-19T10:49:21Z")
Just to make one suggestion (no spoilers), you cannot read “Foundation and Earth” before reading “Foundation’s Edge”. In fact a point can be made for reading the first three Foundation books first as well, but since F&E flows directly from FE, it shouldn’t be read first. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-_did_-the-solarians-go-unboxed-asimov-robot-novel-spoilers/295244/6 "2005-03-19T12:37:45Z")
Oh, goody. Maybe someone can answer my Asimov question: I just re-read _I, Robot_ and then _The Rest of the Robots_, which includes a stack of short stories, _The Caves of Steel_ and _The Naked Sun_. I very much enjoyed those books, but when I tried to read _Foundation_ several years ago, I got bored and put it down. This thread suggests that the Foundation books are linked to the other robot books. Is this so? If it is, I’ll give it another try. (I always felt bad that I didn’t finish _Foundation_.) And could someone give me a brief explanation of where the various works fall in the Asimov-verse? Muchas gracias! ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-_did_-the-solarians-go-unboxed-asimov-robot-novel-spoilers/295244/7 "2005-03-19T15:50:00Z")
> [@Green Bean](#): > > much enjoyed those books, but when I tried to read _Foundation_ several years ago, I got bored and put it down. This thread suggests that the Foundation books are linked to the other robot books. Is this so? If it is, I’ll give it another try. (I always felt bad that I didn’t finish _Foundation_.) I am trying (emphasis on trying) to read Foundation, but I am also finding it boring and monotonous. It seems to be just constant banter between ‘public officials’ about resources and threats of war. I am too impatient to read boring books for the sake of staying in order. I read the Robot books completely out of order (Naked sun, which I didn’t finish, then Robots of Dawn, then Caves of Steel, Then robots and empire) and it didn’t seem to hamper my enjoyment. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-_did_-the-solarians-go-unboxed-asimov-robot-novel-spoilers/295244/8 "2005-03-19T15:55:43Z")
Well, I almost hate to do this, but those who liked the robot books and found the early foundation stories too boring (!) might want to go through the later foundation novels - “Foundation’s edge” and “Foundation and earth”, and then pick up the prequels: “Prelude to foundation” and “forward the foundation” Each of them deal with the robot tie-in, with advanced computerization and other concepts which didn’t really occur to Isaac as he was writing the earlier books. They also tend to include a slightly different kind of action and derring-do than the early foundation trilogy, though still not really being what I’d call “high adventure” science fiction. (In the prequels, prelude and forward, there are a couple of fight scenes involving ‘twisting’, an obscure futuristic martial art that Hari Seldon, apparently, was highly skilled with, and taught to a few of his intimates.) Hope that this helps. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-_did_-the-solarians-go-unboxed-asimov-robot-novel-spoilers/295244/9 "2005-03-19T17:31:00Z")
Thread closed at OP’s request.